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Posted January 31, 2013 11:17 pm - Updated January 31, 2013 11:19 pm

Gene Frenette: Keith McDougald helps JU look for better days

When you look at the logjam atop the Atlantic Sun Conference standings, there's one big comforting thought to Jacksonville University basketball coach Cliff Warren and the rest of the league: The bully is gone.

Belmont, a mid-major powerhouse that took five of the last seven A-Sun bids to the NCAA tournament, has moved to the Ohio Valley and given realistic hope for everybody to gain a March Madness invitation.

"It's anybody's game," Warren said.

Thursday night, his Dolphins and former Bishop Kenny High star Keith McDougald continue to show signs that they might have the resolve to finally get JU to the NCAA dance for the first time since 1986.

Despite flaws in their halfcourt offense and an inability to slow down Stetson's Chris Perez (32 points), the Dolphins escaped with a 71-70 win at Swisher Gym that kept them in a three-way tie for first place.

McDougald, a 6-foot-1 guard with a swift first step, hit the game-winning shot on a follow in the lane with 23.7 seconds remaining. But that one moment in a 19-point, seven-rebound performance is only a small part of his importance in the Dolphins' drive to overcome a 27-year NCAA drought.

What matters is he's finally evolving into the go-to player that JU (12-11, 7-3) desperately needs. McDougald's shot selection and shooting form are significantly better than a year ago. Or before the Christmas break, when he missed three games with a shoulder injury.

"I got to sit on the sidelines and it helped me a lot," said McDougald. "I'm being more patient. I got to feel for my shot, what's comfortable and what's not."

With 11:48 remaining, McDougald made the game's highlight move with a left-handed shot off the glass. That gave JU a 53-48 lead, yet he attempted just one shot in the next 11-plus minutes.

A younger McDougald might have tried to force shots out of frustration. Instead, McDougald resisted the urge to try to take over a game by himself. He let JU's offense run its normal flow, freeing up freshmen teammates Kordario Fleming (16 points) and Jarvis Haywood (11 points).

McDougald has elevated his game at the right time. Not only did he pick up a loose ball in the lane to hit the game-winner, he's shooting a robust 47 percent from the field in A-Sun play.

The Dolphins couldn't afford to get swept by Stetson, a team coached by Casey Alexander, a former Belmont player that spent 20 years playing and coaching under Bruins coach Rick Byrd.

"We're not a carbon copy of Belmont, but we'll probably get more like them as we go along," said Alexander.

Thanks in no small part to a vastly improved McDougald, the Dolphins survived a Belmont wannabe. The hard part will be trying to replace Belmont as the A-Sun king.